ELECTROCUTING MILK. ]Jr .Hope, the medical officet of health for Liverpool, reports the re sults of some experiments on the. in-. fluence of electricity . on milk. It seems that Prof. .Beattie has been working at this for some time with a'. rapidly alternating current. A regu lar flow of milk has. been passea through insulated copper vessels, so that the milk is strongly and evenly electrified, so to speak. The result of this is that the bacteria in the milk have been killed). It appears that the milk has not been wholly sterilised, but that the principal badteria, more particularly those which are not pro- pagated by spores, are almost com- pletely exterminated, and as science is progressive, the methods. and results are likely to be still further improved.., It is rather strange that we have not had this sort of thing investigated long ago, for the present writer remembers it being discussed just forty years ago in one of the scientific journals, anan some of the information then ...

OF RURAL INTEREST . (By "Rusticus.") Those who have summer fodder crops must 'feel particularly pleased with tuemselves in view of the continued breaks in the weather, bringing just the right conditons for heavy yields of the succulent milk and fat producing fod der. The season has had its lessons --some. of them forced home by bitter and costly experiences. One of the most striking of them is the demonstra tion of the value of summer fodder crops. It is practleally an accepted axiom that the farme-" is the most conserv ative of men. Taken as a body, the men on the land undoubtedly do quali fy to be placed in that category. They do not take readily to "new fangled' notions, preferring to jog along in the same old way that was followed by their forbears for generations back. This may seem to some the more re markable in that there is no class to iwhom more advice is given as to how - to do things than those engaged in rural pursuits. The amount of news paper and magazine space devote...

CARROTS FOR HORSES. "The field carrot," a. contributor writes, 'is saIly, neglected as a- field crop, especially in horse feedinig. It is certainly a little .more expensive to grow than turnips or mangolds, but is far more valuable. The best kind is White Belgian, wNhich is a heavy crop per and will produce 16 tons per acre; it is a splendid root for dairy cows in winter, especially where butter is made, to which it imparts both color and fliue flavor, besides increasing the yield. be well manured with farmyard man ure, preferably in the autumn, and The ground intended for them should' ploughed to a fair depth, the :drills should be about 14 inches apart, and the, plants thinned to 6 inches between themm in the rows. 'A little superphosphate should be drilled with the seed,, and it is a good plan to add a little barley, which quick ly indicates the rows and ,enables hoe ing to be done much sooner. We rub the seed well in before sowing to make it run more freely and evenly from the d...

OELLULOID BRISTLES. Until recently brushes have been made celluloid backs, but a Paris firm is iowv selling brushes which have the hair or bristles made of that material, so that the article is entirely of cqlluloidL. It is claimed that those brushes,. while answering every purpose for which the ordinary article is -used, are, easier to clean, and that the celluloid bristles do not retain dirt like the older kind.

In TWhose Blue Depths. CHAI'TER XV\I. LOVE lTROCi"GEIil TIIHAN DEATH. ",Clear the way!." shouted the crowd as the noise of approaching lire-engines was heard, and the gleam of the fire nens' brass heClmets could be seen in the distance. Lord St. Clair stood in the crowd like a man undcr a spell. 'le knew that lanlly, With devotion almost unequalled, had entered the burning pile to rescue Lollie, and conscience to Id him that he was a coward for not aiding her in the noble mlissioni she had undertaken. Jien face death -at the cannon's mouth, and brave the stormy sea, but to face a burning crater appals the stoutest heart; and yet a woman, deli c;te, as fair as a lily, beatutiful as an angel, had iled fromn his side, and de .s.sing -what was worse even "than aeath, .the loss of her beauty, for fire scathes, and seams, and destroys, had gone to succour-who onily a servant, one of the people born to toil and to battle for bread in the ranks of teem ing humanity. Surely, were Pansy to di...

A SETTING SON There was a Jittle boy who began to keep a diary. His first entry was "Got up this morning at 7 o'cloclk' He showed the entry to his. mother, and she, horror-stricken, said "Have you been to school? Got up indeed!I Such an expression. Does the sun get up? No, it rises. SAnd she scratched out "Got up at 7" and wrote "Rose at 7" in..its place. That night the boy, before retiring, ended the entry for the day with the sentence-"Set at 9 o'clock. "

THE BEST WAY OUT. An ol1 negro parson in a Southern church was denouncing theft to his congregation, when he said: "If there is any member of this congregation who is guilty of theft, he had better repent at once and be saved." On his way home he was stopped by old Rastus. who had listened to the sermon intently. "Dohn' you think parson, that nex' Sunday will do jes as well as to-niglit to repent?" asked Rastus. "But, Rastus, why not repent to night and be saved, man ?" "Well, pahson, it's dis way," explain ed Rastus. " Iwant jes one mo' chic ken. fo' to-morrow's dinner, an' I- know wha. I ken git. dat chicken widout bein' caught to-night." "Well," said the parson, hesitating, "I don't know what to say, so I think I will take dinner with you to-morrow and then talk the matter over .with you."

LABOR IN VAIN A well-dressed portly man stood for several moments, watching a brawny drayman who was laboriously tugging at a. large heavy box, which seemled almost as wide as the doorway through which he was trying to move it. Presenitly the kindly disposed on looker approached the perspiring di'ay filan. and said "Like a_ lift.?" "Bet yoir life," the other replied, and foi the next five minutes the two -men. on opposite sides of the box, w'orked, liTt ed, puffed, and wheezed, but.it did not move an inch'. Finally the, portly man straightened up and said, between his puffs, "I don't believe we canl get it. in there." "Get it it?" the drayman shouted. "Why, you idiot, I am trying to get it out."

NEW INVENTIONS. ":UUMMU?O N WE,'AL'PH PATENTS., Applications for grant of letters pat ent, which have been lodged in the following names, have been accepted by the Commissioner: Messrs G. G( Turri and Co., pat ent attorneys No. 1, of Australia, or the Rtialto, 499 Collins Street, Mel bourne, have prepared this report from the official records: Joints for files.-flow simple it is 'to make money by mven tons is shown by the following successful notion. To joit two timbers ther is driven over the bottom a sleeve which has a central diaphragm. A dowel pin is driven through this cen tre. The upper pile is now driven down on the pin, and the sleeve se cured by bolts. Mr. \V. A. McDear mid, Florida, U.S.A. Water Cooled Sate.-A safe has sides with hessian kept moist, and through which air passes to cool the food. The invention is a successtul one, ana is due to the ingenuty of Mr. A. S. RIawling, of N.S.W. Curing Concrete Pipes.-A simple idea is in this case effective. A shield of flexible ...

THE CURLY COATED BREED OF PIGS. This breed of pigs is reported as hav ing recently come greatly into favour in the United Kingdom. They are de scribed as in favour with bacon-curers, and are good doers, while they are also a healthy breed, producing large litters of vigorous young pigs, which fatteh well, and reach the marketing state very q(uickly. Prompt?d by the ucreased price of raw- material, millers are again advanc ing the values of their products. The .appreciation in oats and barley since 2nd .Noteinber amounts to about 6d. per bushel, and consequently a similar movement has taken place in the ananu factured articles. Oatmeal has been advancedt £2, pearl barley £3/10/, and split peas £1 per ton.

CANADIAN CHEESE. DECREASING EXPORTS.? The annual report of the shipmihents of Canadian cheese to: Great Britain as compared nwith .the shipments from other colonies gives rise to-:the question as to the future of Canada and the cheese, industry;, sa'-s .:the- "Canadian Girocer." A falling oft of -Si per cent., such as was showbi to be the decrease, in Canadian j x~poi'ti, to: Great Britain;, is remarkablc `fo?[ single year, while at the same time ?it':is noted that the surplus is. b eing largely made up by, New Zealand. ?The regrettable point here, 'froin:th: Canadian standpoint, is that the produet shipped from this country is of better quality than that sent from our increasingly important competitor. Of course, Canada is no' doubt consuming more of her own make than in past years, but the increased home consumption does not explain the discrepancy, and one is inclined to won der whether there can be.any conneb tion between the falling off in natural products of this kind and the ...

WHEAT AND THE WAR ArUSTRALIA'S OPPORTUNITY. By A.: E.. . Richardson, M.A., B.Sc., Agricultural' Superintendent, in ' fJournal of Agriculture.'' The largest, most violent, and des tructive war in history has been raging without intermission for over four imonths. It was at the outset gener ally adiit:tci that, in the event of a , f::-?ii hb;..... u the vast armies of Eur ope, tn~ conflict must necessarily be of short duration, in view of the un paralleled magnitude of the opposing forces.- :Competent military opinion, ihowever,; has now declared that the struggle will be fairly prolonged, and it is possible that years may elapse be fore a final-. aid lasting peace is de . Gl.: lared.l ' In any case, the probable ef-eects of. the conflict on the demand for foodstuffs and on agricultural pro ductiorn should be of more than passing interest. In this.: article if is intended to sub S niit data to show that the war, if pro loiged, must inevitable lead to a mate rial and unsatisfied, deman...

FIVE RULES FOR FO TUNE 1. Cultivate and perfect sour ideas. ,Experiment. The world is eager for soniething new, which, hoWever simple it.may be, will save labor, or expense, '.ior do things better. Let it be more convenient. or promote pleasure-reduce waste. :.People who handle things in every cday use are the natural inventors of better things, and the natural capitalists of to-morrow. Read the splendid advice that Edison gives. Learn the procedure as to pa tenting in the chief countries,-then secure your own legal monopoly for your rights by becoming a patentee. 2.. If that workman or foreman, or youi ingenious :rmend has produced a clever invention ;put him on the track of .famous and wealthy inventors. , .Mr. F. Towniend, an editor, says of thlie ''lnTventors' Guide," "I am re commending it strongly to friends. Best &amp;lt;of ·the kind I ,.ave seen. It should do a.. lot of good . -It is an incentive telling liiiiwhere ie can obtain the-"In ventors.: Guide." :..3:. For yours...

SEAWEED FOR MANURE. Seaweed, which is plentiful on some coasts, forms a cheap and valuable manure. The composition varies with the vari ety, but the following may be taken as the approximate analysis:- Water ... . . 0S per cent. Organi" matfter . 10-20 jer cent. Nitrogen . . .3-.73 per cent. 'Potash . . 3-1.9 per cent. Phosphdrie acid .1- .5 per cent. From the above analysis it will be seen that *seaweed is conipai·able as a minnure with farmyird manurQ, being, however, slightly deficient in phos phates.. It hlas the advantage of being free from weed seeds.

M- ELBOURNE LETTER (From our Speoial Correspondent.) A seotion of the metropolitan press has taken upon itself to point out the faults and failings of the police force. The much-enduring constable is accused of all sorts of delinquencies -chief among them being, apparently, a lack of the Chesterfieldian manner in moving on the garrulous folk that block the sidewalks in the principal thoroughfares and the sensitive young things who make "under the clocks" their place of assignation-or perhaps we had better call it their rendezvous. The "oop" is perhaps no better than he should be-especially the younger brigade of himn-but that is probably more the fault of the system tuhan anything else. This most important branch of the public service should be the most attractive, but it. is not. The pay, compared with the ruling rates of reintuieration nowadays, is paltry, and the work is onerous and often dangerous. Instead of' decrying the polioe, and thus encouraginmg the un desirable element t...